diff --git a/docs/skills/human-gates.md b/docs/skills/human-gates.md
index e99257ce..a8763f46 100644
--- a/docs/skills/human-gates.md
+++ b/docs/skills/human-gates.md
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 name: human-gates
-version: "1.0"
-last_updated: "2026-06-23"
+version: "1.1"
+last_updated: "2026-08-08"
 id: human-gates
 one_line_purpose: Decide when to stop for Design, Security, Breakage, or Merge review.
 entry_point: docs/skills/human-gates.md
@@ -87,6 +87,13 @@ This gate is always human. CI passing plus an approving review from a human revi
 
 Agents never self-merge, never bypass branch protection, and never force-push to a protected branch.
 
+This gate binds agents, not the maintainer's own hands. A review tool that
+executes a merge or close only on the maintainer's explicit per-item keypress
+— with rulesets and branch protection still enforced by GitHub — is the human
+acting at the gate, not an agent self-merging. What remains forbidden for any
+tool: `--admin` overrides, submitting an approving review, and any
+non-interactive batch mutation.
+
 ---
 
 ## How to Signal a Gate
diff --git a/docs/skills/index.json b/docs/skills/index.json
index 1a48a4b6..72a1cfbc 100644
--- a/docs/skills/index.json
+++ b/docs/skills/index.json
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 {
-  "generated_at": "2026-08-06",
+  "generated_at": "2026-08-08",
   "schema_version": "1.0",
   "skills": [
     {
@@ -362,8 +362,8 @@
         "security"
       ],
       "description": "The four human decision gates \u2014 Design, Security, Breakage, and Merge \u2014 when an agent must stop and request human input. Use when uncertain whether a change requires human review, or to verify evidence requirements before opening a PR.",
-      "version": "1.0",
-      "last_updated": "2026-06-23",
+      "version": "1.1",
+      "last_updated": "2026-08-08",
       "doc_type": "reference"
     },
     {
@@ -503,8 +503,8 @@
         "backlog"
       ],
       "description": "Human-decides, agent-lands PR and issue backlog review. Present one card at a time, take the human verdict, execute it immediately, then advance. Use when reviewing the PR queue or triaging the issue backlog.",
-      "version": "3.4",
-      "last_updated": "2026-08-07",
+      "version": "3.5",
+      "last_updated": "2026-08-08",
       "doc_type": "procedure"
     },
     {
diff --git a/docs/skills/index.md b/docs/skills/index.md
index e81d183b..0b5b3bcf 100644
--- a/docs/skills/index.md
+++ b/docs/skills/index.md
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 This file is a human-readable mirror of `index.json`. Both are generated by
 `scripts/generate_skill_index.py` — do not hand-edit either file.
 
-Generated: 2026-08-06 · schema 1.0 · 39 skills
+Generated: 2026-08-08 · schema 1.0 · 39 skills
 
 | id | category | status | one-line purpose |
 |---|---|---|---|
diff --git a/docs/skills/pr-review/SKILL.md b/docs/skills/pr-review/SKILL.md
index 552fe02e..65a9ec94 100644
--- a/docs/skills/pr-review/SKILL.md
+++ b/docs/skills/pr-review/SKILL.md
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 name: pr-review
-version: "3.4"
-last_updated: "2026-08-07"
+version: "3.5"
+last_updated: "2026-08-08"
 id: pr-review
 one_line_purpose: Run human-decides, agent-lands backlog review one card at a time.
 entry_point: docs/skills/pr-review/SKILL.md
@@ -130,6 +130,13 @@ On any overlap, print `⚠️ COMPETING PAIR` between both cards. The human must
 resolve the pair (defer one, or explicitly acknowledge) before both can be
 voted `merge`.
 
+#### Duplicate-cluster resolution
+
+A competing pair sharing a *closing issue* — or two Renovate PRs normalizing to the *same dependency* — is one piece of work twice, not an ordering hazard. Resolve the cluster as a unit, halting on the first failure:
+**(1)** the human names the survivor from presented diff evidence (`gh pr diff` works for fork heads); **(2)** arm the survivor first: `gh pr merge <S> --squash --auto --match-head-commit <sha>` with the SHA read live, so a push before landing is a server-side refusal;
+**(3)** comment on each superseded PR naming survivor and evidence (`--body-file`, never `--body` with prose through a shell); **(4)** close it — never `--reason "not planned"`, never a label swap;
+**(5)** re-check linked issues per rule 3 below — a still-open issue with no remaining open PR is a finding to report, not something to silently fix.
+
 #### CI card classification
 
 Classify every red before it costs the human a slot. Full triage procedure,
@@ -164,7 +171,6 @@ git diff <approved_sha>...<current_head>
 Full procedure and the table of regressions CI cannot see:
 [references/dismissed-approval.md](references/dismissed-approval.md).
 
-
 ### 2 — Verdict
 
 Prompt the human **per PR, one at a time**. Use `gum choose` when available: